Method of assembly of joint devices and apparatus therefor

ABSTRACT

A method especially suitable for assembling joint devices for use as mechanical connections, such as ball joints, tie rod ends or idler arms, so as to eliminate internal clearance between components due to manufacturing tolerances and for the purpose of obtaining substantially precise assembly control whereby defects such as jamming and lock-up of the movable components may be avoided. The method is put into practice by relatively simple tools which collectively constitute an improved apparatus to achieve superior results in the economy of assembling joint devices of the noted character.

United States Patent Scheublein, Jr. et al.

[151 3,656,221 [451 Apr. 18, 1972 METHOD OF ASSEMBLY OF JOINT DEVICESAND APPARATUS THEREFOR William A. Scheublein, Jr., Ballwin; Louis P.Fister, St. Louis, both of Mo.

Moog Industries, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.

Feb. 2, 1970 lnventors:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

U.S. Cl ..29/l49.5 B, 29/441, 29/511, 287/87 Int. Cl. ..B23p 11/00, B21d53/00, B2ld 39/00 Field of Search ..29/149.5 B, 441, 511, 243.52,29/1495 R; 287/87 References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS l-lerbenar..29/441 3,395,442 8/1968 Herbenar "29/51 1 X 3,430,327 3/1969Herbenar....... ..29/243.52 3,464,723 9/ l 969 l-lerbenar ..287/87Primary Examiner-Thomas H. Eager Attorney-Gravely, Lieder & WoodruffABSTRACT A method especially suitable for assembling joint devices foruse as mechanical connections, such as ball joints, tie rod ends oridler arms, so as to eliminate internal clearance between components dueto manufacturing tolerances and for the purpose of obtainingsubstantially pzrecise assembly control whereby defects such as jammingand lock-up of the movable components may be avoided. The method is putinto practice by relatively simple tools which collectively constitutean improved apparatus to achieve superior results in the economy ofassembling joint devices of the noted character.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 18 I972 3,656,221

SHEET 2 OF 5 BY P. H5727? METHOD OF ASSEMBLY OF JOINT DEVICES ANDAPPARATUS THEREFOR This invention relates to a method of assembling thenecessary components of any relevant joint devices, more especiallyjoint devices useful in the automotive field, and it relates to improvedapparatus for putting the method into practical use.

PROBLEMS IN THE ART Heretofore, joint devices have been troubled withmanufacturing tolerance build-up which has caused malfunctioning of thedevices, such as jamming of the internal components, lack of preciseinitial adjustments so that some of the devices are too stiff whileothers are too loose, and rapid wear which reduces the service life ofthe devices. Elaborate and expensive tooling has been devised by someworkers in this art to try to control tolerance factors, while othershave tried to solve the various problems through design of the severalcomponents. Such efiorts have generally increased costs and called forspecial skills in manufacturing procedures as well as in assemblytechniques.

BRIEF OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directedtoward providing an unique method, practiced by simple apparatus, forreducing the cumulative effects of internal manufacturing tolerancefactors so that substantial improvement can be obtained in achievingconsistent results in the assembly of a variety of joint devices.

The invention is broadly directed to a method for assembling thecomponents of a joint device which includes an open-ended housing, aload transmitting member extending into the housing, and means to securethe member in the housing in load transmitting relation thereto; saidmethod comprising inserting the load transmitting member and securingmeans in the housing through the housing open end, supporting thehousing opposite its open end independently of the load transmittingmember, fixing the load transmitting member in a predetermined positionrelative to the housing, and thereafter spinning a flange around theopen end of the housing adjacent the securing means to retain thecomponents in operative assembly.

An important object of the invention is to control the working clearancebetween operating components within a joint deviceso that consistant andsubstantially uniform products may be turned out.

Another important object of the invention is to provide simple apparatusfor supporting the components of the joint devices during assembly suchthat tolerances are automatically accounted for, whereby zero or apredetermined clearance of the working components can be selected.

Other objects of the invention, both as to method and apparatus, will beset forth in the following specification relating to certain preferredembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The presently preferred embodiments ofthis invention are seen in the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional elevational view of one embodiment ofapparatus by which the present invention may be practiced;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken at line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional elevational view of another embodimentof apparatus by which the present invention may be practiced.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a suitable system for actuating theholding ram of the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partially sectional elevational view of still anotherembodiment of apparatus by which the present invention may be practiced;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but illustrating a different stagein operation of the apparatus; and

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional elevational view of yet anotherapparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 of the accompanyingdrawings, the apparatus includes a bed 10 for the spinning machine whichmay be of the usual construction. A spin-closure head 111 is suitablesupported (not necessary to show) from the bed 10 so as to move in avertical direction and concurrently allow the head to be rotated aboutthe vertical center line of the housing for the joint device 12.Spinning rollers 13 (two being seen) are mounted in the head 11 onshafts 1.4 to rotate about the axes of shafts14. The periphery of eachroller 13 is formed with angularly related surfaces 15 and 16 whicheffect the inward flanging operation on the upwardly open lip 17 of thehousing 18 for the device 12.

The bed 10 carries a fixture stand 20 of U-shape to form a centralopening 21. The upper flat face of the stand 20 carries a pair of sideabutments 22 and a rear abutment 23 (FIG. 2), thereby forming anelongated slot 24 above the central opening 21 for the reception of aforce applying jaw member 25 having a pair of jaw elements 26 formedwith angularly shaped inner faces 27 connected by abase element 28. Apair of spaced clamping wedges 29 abut the respective sloped faces 27 ofthe jaw member 25, and each wedge is provided with a semi-circularfriction element 30. A' suitable ram 31 is positioned on the bed 10 withits force: applying rod 32 abutting the base element 28 of the jawmember for the purpose of forcing the jaw member 25 inwardly of the slot24 to drive the wedges 29 toward each other and into gripping relationabout the shank of a stud.

In FIG. 1, the joint device 12 is seen to include the open ended housing18 placed in position with its opposite apertured flange bearing seatend 33 resting in the recess 34 of the top fixture plate 35. The plate35 is firmly secured to the stand 20 by bolts 36 threaded into the stand20 through the several abutment elements 22 and 23. The flanged end 33of the housing 18 supports a suitable bearing 37 in which the headed end38 of a load transmitting stud 39 is operatively seated. The shank 40 ofthe stud extends outwardly of the housing and downwardly into theopening 21 of stand 20 through the wedges 29 so that the wedges and. thefriction elements 30 thereon are in position to securely clamp thetapered portion of the shank and hold it against axial movement andtuming upon actuation of the ram 31.

The upwardly open housing 18 receives other components of the ball jointassembly which, in this instance, include the ball element 41, a cup 42,a resilient preload element 43 and securing means as the closure plate44.

,The assembled elements in the housing 18 are positioned by gravitycontact in the relationship shown in FIG. I. Actuation of ram 31 willhold the stud shank 40 in relative fixed position and also againstrotation, the actuating means being shown to advantage in FIG. 4. Uponaxially downward feeding of the spinning head 11, the rollers 13 willengage the housing lip 17 and press its apertured bottom end 33 againstthe plate 35 in the recess or nest 34. The action of the spinning headrollers 13 will turn the housing lip 17 inwardly and force it againstthe closure plate 44. During this operation, the stud head 38, bearingball 41, pressure cup 42, resilient element 43, and closure plate 44will be forced into an interference contact with each other. However, nointerference contact will occur between the stud head 38, the bearing 37and the apertured end 33 of the housing 18, so that a zero clearanceassembly is made without jamming the components. The zero clearance isobtained because the force exerted on the housing lip 17 is nottransferred to any of the internal components of the assembly, but istaken through the housing wall to the nest 34. As a result of thismethod of closing the housing 18 at lip 17, the only load acting on thestud head 38 will be the load exerted by the preloading resilientelement 43 as the housing lip 17 is turned inwardly to engage theclosure element 44. That means that regardless of manufacturingtolerances of the internal components of the device 12, all devices 12processed in this apparatus will have substantially the same stud torqueand stud pull for a given force exerted by the resilient element 43. Theassembled device 12 is released for removal upon retracting the ram rod32 from the jaw member 25 and raising the spinning head 11. It isevident now that during closing operation of the spinning head 11 thestud shank 40 will not be allowed to change its position while avertical force is exerted on the housing lip 17 by the rollers 13.

A second embodiment of apparatus is shown in FIG. 3 and whereverpossible like parts will be identified by like reference numerals asapplied in FIGS. 1 and 2. The difference here is that the top fixtureplate 35 is supported by a plurality of resilient elements 46 so that itis spaced above the abutment elements 22 and 23 (FIG. 2). A plurality ofadjusting screws 47 are slidable mounted in plate 35 and are threadedlyconnected in the elements 22 and 23. The resilient elements 46 raise theplate 35 a predetermined distance X above the elements 22 and 23, andthis gap space may be set for any amount desired.

The difference between the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 3 is that in FIG. 3an adjustment is provided to allow for a predetermined amount ofclearance within the assembled device 12 if required or deemednecessary. If, for example, a clearance of 0.010 inch is desired withinthe device 12, the plate 35 of FIG. 3 is adjusted by screws 47 until thedistance X is 0.010 inch. Now when the spinning head 11 is axiallyadvanced toward the housing lip 17, the housing 18 will be forced downand this will drive the plate 35 down to bottom out on the abutmentelements 22 and 23. The result is that 0.010 inch of clearance will beproduced between the stud head 38 and its bearing 37. It is, of course,evident that the stud shank 40 will be held by the clamping elements 29and friction elements 30 in fixed position during the spinning over ofthe housing lip 17 on the closure plate 44.

As is schematically illustrated in FIG. 4, the ram 31 of FIG. 2 iscontrolled by solenoid motor means 50 operably connected to a spoolvalve 51 in a control member 52 inserted between a fluid pressure supplyconduit 53 and the pair of distribution conduits 54 and 55 connected toopposite ends of the ram 31. The solenoid motor means 50 are subject tothe control of a suitable electric control means 56 which is triggeredupon initial downward motion of the spinning head 11. This triggeringaction energizes solenoid motor means 50 to feed the ram 31 for clampingthe stud shank. A pressure sensor device 31A on the ram reacts when thedesired clamping pressure is reached to feed back to the control 56 asignal to set the control member 52 to close both the pressure andreturn lines to the ram 31. This traps the fluid and holds the ram 31 inits shank gripping position with sufficient force to fix the shankposition.

The apparatus and the method connected therewith as described for FIGS.1, 2 and 3 applies generally to joint devices which are installed inusage under tension loads, that is, the principal forces are directed tocause the stud to bear upon the bearing seat element 37, while reboundforces are small by comparison and are opposed by the resilient element43. As will appear below the apparatus and its method of operation canbe applied to the assembly of compression loaded joint devices withequally good results, taking into consideration modifications to suitthe different direction of applied loads and the repositionment of theinternal components of the devices. Wherever possible like referencecharacters as are used in FIGS. I to 4 will be used in describing theelements, components and members which appear in the several views ofFIGS. 5 to 7.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate different stages of operation of an embodimentof apparatus useful for practicing the present method of this inventionas applied to compression loaded joint devices. Reference will first bedirected to FIG. 5, but similar reference characters will apply to FIG.6 as well.

In FIG. 5 the housing 18 has its open end upward with the lip 17directed to be engaged by the flanging rollers 13 and its bottom end 33seated in the nest or recess 34 of the plate 35 resiliently spaced fromthe elements 22 and 23 by springs 46 by a predetermined clearancedistance X (as seen in FIG. 3). A stud 39 has its spherical head end 41alocated in the housing against resilient finger means 43a which extendinwardly from a rim 43b. There are a plurality of these resilient fingermeans 43a which serve the same function as the resilient means 43 inFIG. 3. The stud head 41a is initially spaced a distance D from thebottom surface of the housing. A hearing seat element 37a is placed overthe stud head 41a, and a closure plate 44a is disposed on the element37a inwardly of the housing lip 17.

The spinning head 11 is varied from the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 byhaving a socket 56 formed centrally therein to receive a resilientmember 57. The member 57 bears down on a plunger 58 to extend theplunger below the rollers 13 whereby its outer end 59 may engage theclosure plate 440 prior to the head 11 advancing the rollers 13 intoengagement with the housing lip 17. In this apparatus, it is to benoted, the force of resilient member 57 is greater than the force of theresilient fingers 43a, and the resilient springs 46 exert a force onplate 35 greater than the resilient member 57.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the operation of the apparatus will be describedand compared with FIG. 5. After the components of the joint have beenassembled in housing 18, and with the fingers 43a suspending the studhead 41a the distance D above the bottom end 33, and the gripping means30 free of the stud shank 40, the head 11 is advanced until the plunger58 has its ends 59 just engaging the closure plate 44a. At this point inthe advance of the head 11, the spinning rollers 13 are spaced adistance A above the top of the closure plate 44a. As the head 11continues to lower the plunger 58 forces the closure plate 44a, bearing37a and stud head 410 down compressing the resilient fingers 43a untilthe distance D is closed and the fingers 43a bottom in the housing 18.When this point is reached the rollers 13 will still be spaced above thetop of the closure plate 44a a distance B and the rollers 13 will bevery near the housing lip 17. Concurrently, the plunger 58 will havereceded into the socket 56 of the head due to the bottoming out of theresilient fingers 43a so that the solid engagement of the stud head 410will overcome the force of the resilient member 57 in the socket 46.This action of the parts is evident since the resilient member 57 exertsgreater downward force on the plunger 58 than the upward lift of theresilient fingers 43a on the stud head 41a. Thus, there will be novertical clearance within the assembly in the housing 18.

At the condition illustrated in FIG. 6, the head 11 will trigger the ram31 of FIG. 4 to clamp the stud shank 40 so the stud head 41a is fixedagainst further vertical movement, and the plunger must thereafterrecede further into the socket 56. At this point, if the predeterminedclearance X is not desired, the plate 35 will have been adjusted bythreaded means 47 so that the distance X is zero. In the drawing, it isseen that the clearance distance X is present however. In other words, aclearance within the joint may or may not be desired.

Further downward travel of head 11 (FIG. 6) will now begin the spinningoperation on lip 17. Thus a solid connection is established by therollers 13 through the housing 18 upon the plate 35 in the nest orrecess 34 and the plate 35 will now move down as the resilient springs46 yield. The yielding reaction of springs 46 will transfer theclearance distance X which has been preselected into the joint and thefingers 43b will be relieved from their bottom-out condition. Thespinning rolls turn the lip 17 over the closure plate 44a to lock thecomponents in the housing.

In the method of assembly shown in FIG. 3 for a tension loaded joint thestud shank is always directed down in the block 20, the internalresilient means 43 of the joint is always above or on top of the studhead 41 adjacent the spinning lip 17, and the stud shank 40 is alwaysclamped early in the downward stroke of the head 11 so that its verticalmovement is prevented. The compression loaded joint (FIGS. 5 and 6) hasthe internal resilient means 43a on the same side of the stud head 41awith the shank 40 and the bearing 37a is now adjacent the spinning lip17. The assembly method is, therefore, altered to accommodate thesedifferences which can be noted in that for the joint of FIGS. and 6 whena predetermined final clearance is wanted the stud head 41a must beallowed to move vertically juat before it is clamped and renderedimmobile.

Another type of compression loaded joint is shown in FIG. 7 where thebearing is under the stud head and the internal resilient means andclosure plate are adjacent the spinning lip on top of the stud head. Inthis view, similar reference characters will be applied whereverpossible as in FIG. 5.

: In FIG. 7 the spinning head lla is varied from FIG. l in that acentral aperture 11b is provided to loosely receive the upward directedshank 40 of the stud 39. The bed is also varied in that a centralaperture b is provided, and the fixture stand a is secured thereto bymeans 36a so that its slot 24a is aligned with the aperture 10b. Thefixture plate 35 is adjustably mounted on springs 46 by means 47 on thestand 20a, as before, with its nest or recess 34 uppermost to receivethe end 33a of housing 18 with the aperture 33b therein aligned withapertures 24a and 10b. The joint housing 16 has its open spinning lip 17set upwardly toward the spinning head 11a. The bearing seat 37b isdisposed in the housing and the stud 39 is placed with its sphericalhead 41a in the seat 37b. The resilient member (similar in form to thatof FIG. 5) has its rim 43 b facing to the bearing 37a with its fingers43a uppermost, and a closure 44b is placed over the resilient fingers43a, all as shown. The stud shank 40 now extends upwardly into thecentral aperture llb of the head lla.

A stud head positioner member 60 extends up from the under side of plate35 through the housing aperture 33b and is supported by a plunger 61 ofthe ram 62. The ram 62 has a suitable control valve 63 operated bysolenoids 64 through an electric controller 65 which is responsive tothe position of the spinning head 11a.

In operation, the controller 65 is triggered by the initial downwardmovement of head 11a to lift the positioner member 60 up until itcontacts and engages the stud head 41a, whereupon the controller 65 willset the control valve so that the ram 62 will become locked againstfurther movement. Suitable circuit connections are provided through thepositioner 60 being electrically insulated from the surrounding parts ofthe fixture so that when contact is made on the stud head 41a and therollers 13 just contact the housing lip 17a, a circuit (not shown) iscompleted to the controller 65 to effect the locking of the ram 62. Thestud head 41a now cannot move down, so the spinning rollers 13 willbegin the lip flanging operation and push the housing 18 down to forcethe plate 35 down to close the clearance distance X by causing thesprings 46 to yield. The clearance X which is predetermined by threadedmeans 47 will be transferred to the resilient fingers 4311. Of course,when zero clearance within the joint is desired the gap distance X willbe zero as before explained. The lip 17 will be spun inwardly over theclosure means 44b to fix the assembly.

In the tension loaded joints of FIGS. l and 3, or the compression loadedjoints of FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the apparatus will effect consistant andexact dimensional control over the assembly without regard to tolerancebetween the several components because the actual spinning force isalways taken through the wall of the housing 18 upon the plate 35.Desired internal clearance is achieved in the manner seen in FIGS. 3, 5,5 and 7, because the stud stands at a fixed position and the housingmoves relative thereto by the amount of the distance It is now seen thatthe apparatus above described achieves the objects of the novel andunique method for assembling joint devices of a broad range of purposesand for both tension and compression loading uses. Changes andvariations may be made herein from the several views showing presentlypreferred embodiments of apparatus, such as variations in clamping thestud shank by mechanical or other means.

What is claimed is:

l. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichincludes an open-ended housing, a load transmitting member extendinginto the housing, and housing closure means to secure the member in thehousing in load transmitting relation thereto; said method consisting inlocating the housing on a support in position to receive the loadtransmitting member, placing the load transmitting member in thehousing, swaging a flange about the open end of the housing inoverlapped relation to the closure means to hold the closure means andload transmitting member in the housing, and supporting the loadtransmitting member in a fixed position independent of the housing andits support during the swaging of the flange.

2. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichincludes an open-ended housing, a load transmitting member extendinginto the housing, and housing closure means to secure the member in thehousing in load transmitting relation thereto; said method consisting inlocating the housing on a support in position to receive the loadtransmitting member, placing the load transmitting member in thehousing, swaging a flange about the open end of the housing inoverlapped relation to the closure means to hold the closure means andload transmitting member in the housing, and fixing the loadtransmitting member against rotational and linear movement independentof the housing and its support during the swaging of the flange.

3. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichincludes an open-ended housing, a load transmitting member extendinginto the housing, and housing closure means to secure the member in thehousing in load transmitting relation thereto; said method consisting inlocating the housing on a support in position to receive the loadtransmitting member, placing the load transmitting member in thehousing, swaging a flange about the open end of the housing inoverlapped relation to the closure means to hold the closure means andload transmitting member in the housing, and supporting the loadtransmitting member independently of the housing and against axialdisplacement relative to the housing and its support during the swagingof the flange.

4. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichcomprises an open-ended housing, a load transmitting member having aheaded end in the housing and a shank extending therefrom, pre-loadmeans, and housing closure means to retain the headed end and preloadmeans in the housing; said method consisting in supporting the housingfor predetermined limited axial displacement relative to the extendedshank, placing the headed end in the housing with the shank extendedtherefrom, supporting the headed end in the housing against movement byengaging the shank, and spinning a swaging tool around the housing whileadvancing the tool axially of the housing and maintaining the radius ofrevolution of the tool constant to form a flange overlapping the closuremeans.

5. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichcomponents consist of a housing having opposite open ends, a loadtransmitting member having a headed end in the housing and a shankextending from one open end, preload means, and housing closure means toretain the headed end and pre-load means in the housing; said methodincluding supporting the housing from the one open end for predeterminedlimited displacement axially of the extended shank, supporting theheaded end of the load transmitting member independently of and in apredetermined position relative to the housing, advancing a flanginghead against the other open end of the housing to form a flange thereonadjacent the housing closure means, and Hanging the other open end ofthe housing upon completion of its limited axial displacement to provideclearance in the joint device between the housing and headed end of theload transmitting member substantially equivalent to said limited axialdisplacement of the housing support.

6. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichcomprises setting the headed end of the load with the axial advance ofthe swaging tool in the forming of the flange on the housing overlappingthe closure means.

7. The method set forth in claim 6 which includes allowing the supportfor the housing a predetermined limited displacement axially with theswaging tool, the axial advance of the tool displacing the housingrelative to the headed end to provide clearance in the joint devicesubstantially equivalent to the limited axial displacement of thehousing support.

1. A method for assembling the components of a joint device whichincludes an open-ended housing, a load transmitting member extendinginto the housing, and housing closure means to secure the member in thehousing in load transmitting relation thereto; said method consisting inlocating the housing on a support in position to receive the loadtransmitting member, placing the load transmitting member in thehousing, swaging a flange about the open end of the housing inoverlapped relation to the closure means to hold the closure means andload transmitting member in the housing, and supporting the loadtransmitting member in a fixed position independent of the housing andits support during the swaging of the flange.
 2. A method for assemblingthe components of a joint device which includes an open-ended housing, aload transmitting member extending into the housing, and housing closuremeans to secure the member in the housing in load transmitting relationthereto; said method consisting in locating the housing on a support inposition to receive the load transmitting member, placing the loadtransmitting member in the housing, swaging a flange about the open endof the housing in overlapped relation to the closure means to hold theclosure means and load transmitting member in the housing, and fixingthe load transmitting member against rotational and linear movementindependent of the housing and its support during the swaging of theflange.
 3. A method for assembling the components of a joint devicewhich includes an open-ended housing, a load transmitting memberextending into the housing, and housing closure means to seCure themember in the housing in load transmitting relation thereto; said methodconsisting in locating the housing on a support in position to receivethe load transmitting member, placing the load transmitting member inthe housing, swaging a flange about the open end of the housing inoverlapped relation to the closure means to hold the closure means andload transmitting member in the housing, and supporting the loadtransmitting member independently of the housing and against axialdisplacement relative to the housing and its support during the swagingof the flange.
 4. A method for assembling the components of a jointdevice which comprises an open-ended housing, a load transmitting memberhaving a headed end in the housing and a shank extending therefrom,pre-load means, and housing closure means to retain the headed end andpreload means in the housing; said method consisting in supporting thehousing for predetermined limited axial displacement relative to theextended shank, placing the headed end in the housing with the shankextended therefrom, supporting the headed end in the housing againstmovement by engaging the shank, and spinning a swaging tool around thehousing while advancing the tool axially of the housing and maintainingthe radius of revolution of the tool constant to form a flangeoverlapping the closure means.
 5. A method for assembling the componentsof a joint device which components consist of a housing having oppositeopen ends, a load transmitting member having a headed end in the housingand a shank extending from one open end, pre-load means, and housingclosure means to retain the headed end and pre-load means in thehousing; said method including supporting the housing from the one openend for predetermined limited displacement axially of the extendedshank, supporting the headed end of the load transmitting memberindependently of and in a predetermined position relative to thehousing, advancing a flanging head against the other open end of thehousing to form a flange thereon adjacent the housing closure means, andflanging the other open end of the housing upon completion of itslimited axial displacement to provide clearance in the joint devicebetween the housing and headed end of the load transmitting membersubstantially equivalent to said limited axial displacement of thehousing support.
 6. A method for assembling the components of a jointdevice which comprises setting the headed end of the load transmittingmember in the housing for engagement under its own weight and fixing theposition of the member relative to the housing at this engagement,positioning a closure means adjacent the headed end and in the housing,spinning a swaging tool around the housing while advancing the toolaxially of the housing and maintaining the radius of revolution of thetool constant to form a flange on the housing overlapping the closuremeans, and supporting the housing independently of the headed end of theload transmitting member to cooperate with the axial advance of theswaging tool in the forming of the flange on the housing overlapping theclosure means.
 7. The method set forth in claim 6 which includesallowing the support for the housing a predetermined limiteddisplacement axially with the swaging tool, the axial advance of thetool displacing the housing relative to the headed end to provideclearance in the joint device substantially equivalent to the limitedaxial displacement of the housing support.